I forced a small laugh. “Guess not.”Pierce folded himself into the chair beside mine with an easy grace, like he had all the time in the world. “You and your son from back East? Moonstone territory?”I nodded slowly. “That’s right.”“Beautiful pack lands. Dense woods. Clean air. I passed through on
DEREKThe bastard was fast.We chased him through the remains of the old rail yard—broken tracks twisted like bones, rusted metal screeching underfoot as we leapt from one abandoned car to the next. He vaulted down from the top of a boxcar and hit the ground running, silver blade glinting in one han
“He’ll skin me alive!”He started thrashing again. Harder this time.And then—His jaw clamped down with a sharp, audible crack.I surged forward. “What—"Foam bubbled at his lips. He convulsed, silver-tinged saliva spilling down his chin. His eyes went wide. Terror. Regret.And then—nothing.Brock
DEREKThe table in front of me was covered in ash-streaked plastic sleeves, each one holding a piece of what was pulled from the oil drum.Burned edges. Charred ink. Some were just scraps. Others still had enough legible text to make your blood run cold.Brock stood beside me, flipping slowly throug
ELENAThe door creaked open, and I nearly choked on the fear that rose in my throat.I didn’t move from where I stood next to the cot, Aiden was just next to me, his body limp and convincingly still. The metal vent above us swung open just a hair—barely noticeable unless you were looking for it.Pie
AIDENThe metal was colder than he expected.Aiden crawled forward on his elbows and knees, trying not to let the duct rattle too much beneath him. The air inside smelled like dust and old hotel rooms—mixed with the chlorine still clinging to his skin from the pool.That was probably good. He didn’t
CASSANDRABy the time my father called, I already had my answer.“I told you,” I said, reclining on the silk chaise in my apartment, phone pressed to my ear. “You need to stop worrying. Derek will be mine.”A pause. Then, his voice—cool, clipped, expectant. “You sound confident.”“I am confident.” I
“So you want to be a part of the chaos, huh?” I asked, stepping closer to him.“I want to belong,” he said fiercely.Goddess, didn’t we all.He pulled something from his belt. A silver dagger. Ornate, old. Too delicate for someone like him.“Found this in the woods a while back,” he said. “Figured i
I grew angrier the more I talked.“You gave me a heartbeat on a monitor and a false sense of fatherhood. And then, when you knew the walls were closing in, you faked a miscarriage to seal the story. You didn't just lie—you tried to break me.”Tears welled in her eyes, but I kept going.“I mourned a
DEREKThe cemetery was quiet.The kind of quiet that settled into your bones, that made your thoughts louder, your memories sharper.I stood alone, one hand tucked into my coat pocket, the other wrapped around the slim stem of a white chrysanthemum. It was early—too early for mourners or caretakers.
Amy’s voice was small now. “I believe so.”I set the glass down with a soft clink. “Pour the full glass.”She did.“Now decant the rest,” I said. “I’ve lost my appetite for food. But I’ll be staying to enjoy the bottle.”Amy said nothing. She bowed slightly and stepped away to fetch the decanter.Th
DEREKI didn’t stop for the cameras.They flared like tiny suns as I stepped out of the black SUV, their shutters clicking rapid-fire.Flashes bounced off the platinum buttons of my coat, off the trim of my collar, illuminating the sidewalk in sharp, artificial bursts. I walked straight through the
The temperature in the room shifted.Not dramatically, but enough. Like a subtle drop in pressure before a storm. Erin straightened, her laughter tapering. I smoothed the sample fabric in front of me and didn’t look up right away.“Hey,” Logan said casually. “What’s so funny?”Erin glanced at me. “J
ELENAThe Moonstone packhouse was a flurry of motion and color. Fabric swatches fluttered like flags in a breeze as pack members carried bolts of cloth up the stairs. Someone was arguing loudly in the hall about whether “frosted lilac” was different from “lavender fog,” and a delivery of beeswax can
ELENAThe metronome was ticking again.That steady, deliberate rhythm that Dr. Voss insisted helped center my recall—though half the time, I wasn’t sure if it helped or just made me hyper-aware of how fast my thoughts were spinning.I sat back in the reclined chair, palms resting against the fabric-
“A silver claw?”I nodded. “Yeah. The first. The only. It seared his flesh every time he used it. Every swing hurt. But he used it anyway.”“That sounds… awful.”“It was,” I said. “But he made that pain his purpose. Every battle, every fight he walked into—he carried the silver claw. And with it, he
DEREKThe room still smelled like fresh paint.The new bedding hadn’t quite lost its store scent either—crisp fabric, a little too new, the faint chemical undertone of being unboxed that morning.But it didn’t matter. Aiden was already halfway under the covers, head turned toward the window, blanket